A competition that comes out in front
We have met the jury of the latest edition of the make me! design contest organized by Łódź Design Festival.
The international design competition make me! is one of the most pioneering events in Europe created for young designers taking their first steps in their professional careers. This year’s edition of Łódź Design Festival will show for the 16th time the bold ideas of emerging male and female designers, and thereby the trends that are changing the way we think about design. The organizers have just announced a jury composed of unique authorities from the design industry.
For the 16th time Łódź Design Festival will award prizes in an international design competition make me!. The competition was first held in 2008, and since then it has been attracting young, rising designers both from Poland and abroad. make me! is a competition focused on bold, pioneering ideas, previously unknown design perspectives, experiments with a form or function of objects… In other words – on a change for the better, with design as its vehicle!
The award in the make me! competition is not only a prestigious recommendation given by experts for designers taking their first steps in the industry. It is also a chance to show your projects in front of a wide audience: respected designers and manufacturers, editors and media, and consumers themselves. The awarded projects – as every year – will be shown during the contest exhibition, which is one of the fundamental events accompanying each edition of Łódź Design Festival and enjoys great popularity.
Applications for the 16th edition of the make me! competition will be accepted by the organizers until 22.03.2023, and the application form can be found on the website makeme.lodzdesign.com. The winners will be presented at the final ceremony of this year’s Łódź Design Festival. The prize pool is 50.000 pln!
As in previous years, also this time, the competition applications will be considered by the jury, which includes highly appreciated authorities – both practitioners and theoreticians of design. During this year’s make me! edition, the submitted projects will be assessed by Maurizio Burrato, Maja Ganszyniec, Szymon Hanczar, Joanna Krokosz, Michał Piernikowski, Tomasz Rygalik and Ingrid van der Wacht. The projects will be evaluated in two stages. Among the evaluation criteria the experts mention such categories as aesthetics and functionality, as well as market, communication or experimental potential. Originality manifested in a pioneering design approach, both in the context of the technologies or materials used and in the dimension of social reflection, will also be a special asset.
The international design competition make me! is an amazing opportunity for young designers to showcase their wonderful concepts to a wide audience, including potential collaborators, commercial partners and clients. The prosperity our planet – the natural environment, an egalitarian society with access to health care, quality food and housing – is something we should all care most about today. As designers, you are in a unique position – it is you, with your knowledge, experience and skills, who can bring this positive change! – says Ingrid van der Wacht, member of jury of the 16th edition of the competition.
Meet the Jury of make me! design contest!
MAURIZIO BURRATO
Managing Director and Brand Ambassador Interprint Italia. Since 2013 he is a member of design and marketing team at Interprint. He studied Industrial Design and Building Engineering at the “Istituto Tecnico M. Buniva” in Pinerolo province of Torino. Since 1994 to 2013 he was working as R&D and sales manager in different companies for MFC and HPL/CPL market.
Maja Ganszyniec
Maja Ganszyniec is a designer with a comprehensive approach to the design process. Born in Poland, she studied interior architecture on Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow before graduations in Design product at the Royal College of Art In London in 2008. In 2013 she established Studio Ganszyniec, focusing on human oriented and nature friendly objects. In her practice she combines design that is both visionary and responsible – always looking for new opportunities within the limits of strategic thinking. For the last decade she has collaborated with brands like IKEA, DUKA, Comforty or Noti. In 2017 the polish Institute of Industrial Design awarded her with the Designer of the Year title. In 2020, she was appointed as a Creative Director of Profim – leading office furniture manufacturer in Poland and one of brands of the scandinavian Flokk Group. She is also an owner and founder of an independent furniture brand Nurt.
Szymon Hanczar
Interior and object designer. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, currently works there as a lecturer and head of the Furniture Department. He also studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Kuenste in Munich. He designs interiors, furniture and exhibition spaces. Precursor of minimal living spaces. Author of projects that have won the must have award at the Łódź Design Festival, the Furniture Diamond or the LIT Design Award. Juror in many design contests. He runs his own design studio.
Joanna Krokosz
Designer and lecturer at the Faculty of Industrial Forms of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. She runs the Socially Responsible Design Studio and the Universal Design Laboratory. She deals with social, inclusive and universal design, with a particular focus on the needs of the elderly, children and people with disabilities. In 2022 she defended her PhD thesis, the aim of which was to improve the quality of life of the elderly by increasing access to occupational therapy. She has been among the make me! finalists three times. Her designs have been shown at exhibitions in Stockholm, Milan, Cologne, Belgrade, Warsaw, Łódź and Cracow.
Michał Piernikowski
Director of Łódź Design Festival. Enthusiast of urban activities and design. Organiser and co-organiser of many projects related to creative industries, including: Ad Days Advertising Festival, Creative Industries Conference, Art_Inkubator and Fotofestiwal. Co-founder of Łódź Art Center; member of a team engaged in activities aimed at promoting the design in its broad sense in Łódź.
Tomek Rygalik
Lead designer at Studio Rygalik working on architecture and products for premium companies and international brands including Cappellini, Moroso, Ghidini, Siemens, Heineken, or Ikea. An open minded educator with broad experience and PhD in industrial design; professor at Aalto University. Founder and creative director of furniture and accessories brand TRE Product; cofounder of the interdisciplinary community DesignNature and the creative campus in Sobole.
Ingrid van der Wacht
She works as a freelancer for her own company Factor-I (2001) as a connector, communicator and conceptor with a focus on co/design for a better world. Since years she has worked for organizations driven by (Dutch) Design. Like for Dutch Design Foundation, organizer of Dutch Design Week. She works on the International Public Affairs to establish and strengthen the connections worldwide with organizations and institutions demonstrating the power of (Dutch) design for global change. She is a part of the board of the global network of World Design Weeks and on European level of the board of BEDA – Bureau of European Design Associations. Over the years she has co-created and worked on European design projects that value and invest in the power of design. Like for betterment of organizational performance – ADMIRE Design Management Europe Award. Or developing tools and approaches to co-design for innovation and inclusivity: PROUD Europe. Or very specific thematic design for co-creation of solutions against food loss and waste in the beginning of the food chain – Food Heroes.
The organization of the Łódź Design Festival 2023 is possible thanks to the support of the Łódzkie Centrum Wydarzeń and the City of Łódź. LDF was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund.